Lawsuits over concussions capture attention of Fox Valley football coaches, school officials

May 18, 2013

Two-part series

Amid the national debate and ever-expanding legal battles over concussions and head injuries to football players, Post-Crescent Media has produced a two-day report examining how the popular sport could change in coming years, from high schools to the pros. Today: Prep coaches and athletic directors grow wary over concussion litigation, but are confident with player safety measures. Monday: Former Green Bay Packers linebacker George Koonce says football will retain its immense popularity despite the negative attention surrounding concussions and head injuries.

Concussion mandates for prep sports

Jeramie Korth still remembers the collision that sent him to the sidelines during a rough-and-tumble high school football game in 1993.

Korth was playing linebacker for the Menasha Bluejays when he zeroed in on a bruising running back from Kaukauna. His helmet slammed into the back’s knee, leaving Korth dizzy and disoriented — classic signs of a concussion. Coaches removed him from the game, and it didn’t sit well with Korth.

“I was really fired up,” he recalled. “I was a little wild about coming out of the game. It was pretty bad.”

Now, 20 years later, Korth views concussions differently. As head coach of the team he once starred for, Korth is keenly aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of concussions and says the well-being of his players is a top priority.

Korth’s concerns over concussions don’t end there. He is keeping a close eye on ever-increasing litigation surrounding the sport — including lawsuits against the NFL by former players who sustained head injuries, along with a Colorado case in which a helmet manufacturer was successfully sued by a man who was injured in a high school football game.

Some people think football’s demise is just a matter of time. They contend that litigation eventually will take a major toll at the prep level, and school districts will be unable to afford the prohibitive costs of continuing the sport. Those who see football fading away point out that some parents are preventing their children from playing the sport, which, they say, will cut into the feeder programs that supply players for high school, college and pro teams.

Korth isn’t panicking, but he is worried about the future of the sport he loves — and whether it can survive a relentless string of costly lawsuits.

“You just have to wonder when it’s going to stop and how far it’s going to be taken,” he said. “And how extreme will it be? “We’re in a different age (with litigation). It’s something we can’t control. I can only control the 290 kids who are in the Menasha football program (grades six to 12).”

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Storm clouds looming?

Korth said he understands the reasoning behind the legal action involving more than 4,000 former NFL players who claim the league failed to protect them from chronic head injury risks. But he sees another side to the controversy.

“When you hear about all that stuff going on, you want to be sensitive to the families,” he said. “But you also want to protect the game of football and try to find a balance between the two.”

Korth isn’t alone in being concerned about the long-term viability of football, which is ingrained in Wisconsin’s fabric at the professional, collegiate and high school levels.

“We, obviously, are most concerned about player safety at all levels and we are always continuing to learn ways to make things safer. We want to make sure there is a process in place. How it goes from there is out of our control, to some degree. Typically, the domino effect starts with the NFL and moves down.”

Kimberly, along with school districts in Appleton, Neenah, Menasha and other Fox Valley locales, have systems in place to closely monitor players for concussion symptoms and keep them out of action until they are medically cleared.

“There is an inherent risk (in playing football),” McGinnis said. “If we’re ever called on the carpet for something, we want to make sure we have a rationale for it.”

McGinnis, who is highly encouraged with the gains that have been made in recent years in concussion treatment, doesn’t see any dramatic decline in the popularity of football in the near term.

“I see football being a sport for quite a while,” he said.

So does Kevin Herrling, activities director at Appleton North High School.

“It’s something we keep an eye on,” he said of the national litigation surrounding football, “but we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.”

Herrling said there could be some liability insurance concerns down the road because of current and future litigation, but he doesn’t envision the eventual elimination of the sport.

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“I don’t see that as a huge concern,” he said.

Dave Anderson, executive director of the WIAA, said coaches and athletic directors at Wisconsin high schools are “wise to be wary” about the future of football.

But he thinks the good far outweighs the bad when it comes to prep football. And he is adamant the WIAA will continue to work with schools in Wisconsin to implement — and enforce — safety measures involving head injuries.

Anderson acknowledged that some view the ongoing litigation and negative publicity surrounding concussions as a “pathway to disaster” for football, but he remains optimistic for the sport.

“The value of, and the appreciation for, the sport and participation continues to be strong,” he said. “I don’t believe it will go away easily. At least I hope not.”

That view is shared by Jim Strick, activities director at Neenah High School. Still, Strick is intrigued about how high school football might change.

“I wonder how many parents with young children have said, ‘My kid won’t play football,’” Strick said. “I wonder how many kids will be playing football in future years.”

If participation levels drop off over concussion concerns, it could have an impact, he said.

“Right now, undoubtedly, football is the No. 1 sport in the country. It will be interesting to see if it stays that way.”

NFL under fire

Andrew Brandt, a former vice president of the Green Bay Packers who has extensive experience in the business side of professional sports, says football will retain its popularity, regardless of the outcome of the massive concussion-related legal action pending against the NFL.

“The league is as healthy as ever,” Brandt said. “It’s hard to see it having an impact on the game itself.”

Brandt said he “kind of chuckles” when he hears people say professional football could follow the lead of boxing, which has lost much of its national appeal over the years.

“It’s more popular,” he said of pro football. “It has become a staple of peoples’ lives on Sundays.”

The suit by the retired players, including a number of former Green Bay Packers, claims the NFL failed to protect them from chronic risks of head injuries and concealed those risks. Lawyers representing the players have maintained that the head injuries caused neurological problems, permanent mental disability and, in some cases, death.

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The NFL argues that the cases should be dismissed, and the injury claims should be heard by arbitrators under the terms of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

The lawsuits are grouped in more than 200 cases. In a Philadelphia courtroom in April, Federal District Court Judge Anita Brody heard arguments from both sides. Brody is expected to decide soon whether the suits can proceed.

Matt Mitten, a law professor at Marquette University Law School and director of the National Sports Law Institute, said the dispute between the NFL and its former players won’t be resolved quickly. “We’re many, many years from it being resolved — if it is litigated,” he said.

Even if the NFL is found to be liable, or partially liable, “it won’t bankrupt the league,” Mitten said.

“There are so many hurdles (for plaintiffs to overcome),” he added.

Mitten said the nature of pro football has been changing, even with the lawsuits unresolved. He cited safety measures that have been imposed in recent years, including limitations on the number of full-contact practices, a ban on running backs lowering their heads to deliver a blow, and the presence of independent neurologists on the sidelines to monitor players.

“The outcome of this litigation won’t make a huge difference from a fan’s perspective,” Mitten said. “We’re already seeing it.”

High schools draw praise

While much of the attention on concussions is focused on the NFL, high schools in Wisconsin have dealt directly with the issue for several years.

Schools in the Fox Valley are constantly upgrading measures to diagnose and treat concussions, along with instituting measures to prevent them from happening in the first place.

In 2012, a new law aimed at minimizing the risk of traumatic head injuries to high school athletes took effect in Wisconsin. The law set mandatory procedures for coaches and athletic officials to follow when players sustain concussions. It gave legal standing to the existing WIAA policy of requiring players to be removed from games or practices until they are medically cleared to return.

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“With the new law, we are really tight with concussion protocols,” Herrling said.

He said one area of concern is that some student-athletes don’t want to report concussion-like symptoms because they are worried about losing their spot in the lineup.

That’s also a concern for Dr. Kevin Walter, a Milwaukee-based pediatric primary care sports medicine physician and a co-founder of the Medical College of Wisconsin’s sports concussion program.

“They see these NFL players who don’t report their concussions,” Walter said. “They take their cues from professional athletes, which is wrong.”

Walter said it’s difficult to get a grasp on how widespread concussions are in youth and prep sports because it’s under-reported. He praised Wisconsin schools for their attention to the issue.

“The WIAA has been ahead of the NFL when it comes to concussion care,” he said. “In our state, we’re lucky because the WIAA has taken an active role. These are human beings, not video game players.”

Dr. Rick Canlas, a family and sports medicine physician at Appleton-based ThedaCare, treats concussions for children as young as 9 years old. In addition to football, concussions occur to those who play hockey, basketball, soccer, baseball and other sports, he said.

“We basically see the full spectrum,” Canlas said.

He stressed that immediate treatment is vital.

“There are individuals who will delay seeking care, thinking it will get better on its own, and they won’t inform a coach or trainer until it gets aggravated,” Canlas said. “With each sustained concussion, you’re more at risk for a substantive injury to the brain.

“We don’t want this to occur in younger individuals and have them pay the price down the line.”